Defend Medicaid from Republican Budget Cuts

Republicans are advancing a budget reconciliation bill to fund tax cuts for the wealthy that, if finalized, will necessitate millions in Medicaid cuts. Medicaid provides health insurance for 72 million low-income and disabled Americans. The program is jointly funded and administered by states/territories and the federal government, with the federal government covering a greater share of Medicaid costs in poorer states. Republicans are weighing two primary options to gut Medicaid: cutting federal funding for Medicaid expansion and imposing work requirements.

Forty states and DC expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act to cover over 20 million additional low-income adults. The federal government covers 90% of Medicaid expansion costs, but Republicans are considering reducing this rate, which would make Medicaid expansion financially unsustainable in most states. Twelve states also have provisions to automatically end expansion if federal funding rates drop below 90%. Republicans are also considering imposing burdensome Medicaid work requirements, even though 92% of non-disabled adult Medicaid enrollees are already employed.

One estimate concluded that reducing federal contributions to Medicaid expansion would cause over 34,000 additional deaths annually. Medicaid work requirements are costly to implement and would result in further massive coverage losses. Medicaid is a universally well-regarded and highly cost-effective insurance program that connects people to life-saving health care. Cutting it will directly harm millions of Americans.

Demand your representatives oppose a budget reconciliation bill that includes these damaging cuts to Medicaid and endangers the health care access of millions of Americans. Republicans are aiming to push this bill through the House and Senate by Memorial Day.